X-Men: Roll with It
by uberjoibubble
Summary: Post-Apocalypse: During the summer before the beginning of the 90's, Charles realizes a destructive pattern whenever he and Erik meet. In an attempt to save the coming decade and himself, he makes a desperate attempt to get away from Erik. In so doing, he meets an unlikely mutant with an unfortunate mutation of attracting bad luck.
1. Chapter 1

Post-X-Men: Apocalypse:

Charles was sitting comfortably in his wheelchair on the patio overlooking the estate's backyard when Scott, Jean, Kurt and Jubilee burst out the back door. Excitement illuminated their joyful expressions and Charles could not help but reciprocate the smiles that greeted him.

"Kids," he said, an endearment reserved for certain students. "What's all the excitement about?" Jean knelt beside the professor, taking his hand in hers.

"Someone is here to see you," Jean said, smiling.

"And he brought a gift basket. Of what, I don't know," Jubilee added glancing at Scott and Kurt.

"Who's here to see me?" Charles asked shifting in his wheelchair.

"Mr. Lensherr," Scott replied. A twinge of panic crossed Charles face, which Jean noticed right away.

"Professor, what's wrong?" she asked, concern etched in her voice. Charles smiled, reassuringly patting her hand.

"It's been awhile since I've seen Erik. That's all," Charles reassured her. The smile returned to her face. "You can tell him to meet me on the patio." Jean nodded and stood up, gesturing to the others to go back into the estate house.

The reason why panic flashed across Charles's face was because he wasn't expecting Erik to drop by so suddenly. The last few times he saw Erik, unpleasant events erupted out of nowhere which caused Charles immense amount of discomfort, including deathlike symptoms. If he saw Erik again, another event might happen and Charles did not want to be laying in a field somewhere about to be crushed by a gigantic baseball stadium or deal with a six-foot-four purple man staring at him with bad intentions.

Charles suddenly decided that he did not want to see Erik Lensherr anymore and immediately started scanning his surroundings. The patio was elevated on a small knoll surrounded by a river of woodchips and lovely plants his students planted. His wheelchair would not be able to make the safe roll down the hill. He was only left with one option.

Charles dove out of his wheelchair and landed in the bed of woodchips. He was hoping that he'd bypass the woodchips but didn't take into account the wheelchair rolling backwards on his launch. He could hear chatter coming from the doorway and Jean's voice talking to Erik. Charles looked down the hill. He'd gotten this far, he mused, and started rolling down the hill with some woodchips still clinging to his cardigan.

"The professor should be … professor?" Jean said, seeing the empty wheelchair near the edge of the patio. Scott, Kurt, Jean, Jubilee and Erik rushed to the edge. The professor was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh my gosh, the professor haz been abducted by aliens!" Kurt exclaimed. Jubilee stared at Kurt, her brow raised.


	2. Chapter 2

Sheryl Jackson was driving along the road, body leaned forward and hands firmly placed ten and two on the steering wheel, when she started feeling an unsettling aura come over. This usually accompanied her mutation of attracting bad luck. The last time this sensation came over her, she was staring at the headlights of a Volkswagon that ran itself into the dining area of a Chick-fil-A.

"Oh no," she said recalling the incident. "No, no, no, no, no! I won't have it. Nope. Not this day." She looked at the rearview mirror anxiously, momentarily sighing in relief before suddenly feeling an unknown force impact the hood and windshield of her 1978 Buick LeSabre.

She screamed seeing a face staring back at her and immediately slammed on the breaks, which flung the man onto the pavement in front of her. Sheryl sat motionless in her seat, hands still gripping the steering wheel as a few squeeks escaped her throat.

"Oh God," she breathed. "I just killed a man."

She fumbled with her seatbelt and hesitantly opened the side door before rushing to the body lying in front of the Buick. The man groaned as he slowly turned on his side.

"I am so sorry!" Sheryl exclaimed extending her arms for the man to grab hold of. "Are you okay? Did I break anything?" The man politely waved away Sheryl's hands.

"I'm afaid I'm not able to stand," the man said apologetically. Sheryl felt her eyes tear up.

"Oh goodness, I just paralyzed a man," she said covering her face with both hands. "It's getting worse. My uncle was right; I need to find a therapist … maybe an evangelist or—."

"My dear," the man said holding his hand above his bald head. "I'm quite alright except for the minor scrapes and bruises attained from your car, which is very lovely by the way. If you'll let me explain, I was already paralyzed from the waist down before you hit me."

Sheryl stared at him, slowly removing her hands from her face. The man had a kind disposition and the bluest eyes she had ever seen.

"If you're paralyzed, how did you get in front of my car?" Sheryl asked regarding him suspiciously. The man looked around and stared confusedly at Sheryl.

"I don't really know," he replied. "One minute I was on my estate rolling down a hill and the next I was on top of your car."

"Wait a minute!" Sheryl said kneeling beside the man. "What kind of estate? The Xavier estate?"

"Yes, how did you-?" He asked. Sheryl squeeled excitedly, grabbing his hand.

"You're the professor! Professor X! I heard about you from my uncle who knew a guy who knew a guy who's related to a girl who says you could help me. Also, I think you were in my head one time when that purple guy, or whatever his name is, wanted to take over the world," Sheryl said exuberantly. Charles had to admit her persona and smile were infectious.

"What seems to be troubling you, uh-?" Charles asked.

"Oh, Sheryl," Sheryl replied shaking his hand. In return, Charles smiled politely.

"Well, Sheryl, I'll do my best to help you but I think we should find a better place to discuss your … problems," Charles said, gesturing with his eyes to his and Sheryl's surroundings. Sheryl agreed, realizing she was having this conversation in the middle of the street. She helped the professor into her Buick and got behind the wheel.

"Professor, are you hungry?" She asked.

"I could go for a bite to eat," Charles replied.

"Okay," She said starting the engine. She looked at the professor again. "Are you sure you don't need to go the hospital or anything?"

"I assure you I'm fine," The professor replied with a slight smile. As long as he could avoid a chance encounter with Erik he'd be fine. He just needed a break … from everything.


	3. Chapter 3

_Meanwhile, back at the Xavier estate in Westchester_ ~

"The professor was not abducted by aliens," Jubilee said glaring at Kurt.

"Besides, aliens don't exist," Scott added.

"Says you," Jubilee remarked with a side-glance.

Erik knelt by the patio's edge examining the displaced woodchips. He picked one up and held it between his thumb and forefinger and noticed more woodchips displaced in the grass leading down the hill. Charles couldn't have jumped the chair and rolled down the hill, even though he suspected as much. Did he really not want to see him after he saved his life in Cairo? As Erik recalled, Charles did seem a bit different the last time he visited for their usual chess game.

"Mr. Lensherr, do you think the professor was taken? Jean asked.

"I'm not sure," he replied because if Charles did roll down the hill he wouldn't have gotten far. "Let's spread out and look for him."

 _Back to Charles and Sheryl …_

"Have you ever had Crusty's chicken before? They got the best Cajun rice I've ever tried. My uncle likes the chicken 'cause they got the best dark meat fried chicken he ever had … oh, and my mama, before she passed, loved their coleslaw." Sheryl said going through the drive thru of a run-down dirty white building. Charles shook his head before Sheryl continued listing family favorites.

Crusty's logo featured a white chicken in front of a yellow oval with Crusty's written in bold red letters beside it. Charles hardly ever had fast food when he was younger, let alone fried chicken. He had to admit he was kind of looking forward to trying something different.

"Can we get a bucket of the Crusty's chicken, dark meat and white meat, with two sides of Cajun rice and coleslaw. Oh, and do we get the bisquits? Is that a part of the meal? It is? Awesome." Sheryl ambled the Buick towards the next window. She pulled out her purse from behind Charles's seat and set it in her lap to look for her wallet.

"Oh, Sheryl, let me get this one," Charles offered pulling out a twenty from his inside jacket pocket. Sheryl smacked his hand away.

"Uh-uh, I got you Professor," she said handing the attendant the cash. "It's the least I could do for hitting you with my car."

Sheryl pulled her car into the corner of an empty parking lot beside Crusty's and adjusted her and Charles's seats before nestling Crusty's bucket between the front two seats of her Buick. She handed Charles a napkin and unfolded hers on her lap before reaching into Crusty's bag and pulled out two cups of coleslaw and black plastic spoons. She handed one to Charles and set the other in her lap. Charles held the palm-sized cup in his hand, staring into the bowl of milky white-coated shredded vegetables, before popping off the clear plastic cover. The smell of sweet buttermilk wafted into his face.

"Mmm," Charles mumbled while Sheryl, already mid-bite, smiled delightedly.

"Man, you haven't even taken a bite and already you're drooling over Crusty's coleslaw," Sheryl chuckled, stirring her coleslaw.

"I've never had Crusty's coleslaw before," Charles said before taking a bite. He was half expecting the vegetables to be watered down but was surprised to find just the opposite. They were quite crunchy and flavorful. He looked at Sheryl who looked at him and laughed when she laughed.

"Thank you, Sheryl, for the meal. It was very delicious," Charles said patting his stomach.

"You say it like I cooked this myself," Sheryl replied laughing. "Even though I probably could."

"You like to cook?" Charles asked. Sheryl nodded, still smiling. Her eyes looked into the distance as if she were somewhere else in time and space. Charles intertwined his fingers in his lap and sighed as silence settled between the two of them.

"Sheryl," Charles said after a few minutes.

"Yea," she replied eyes closed.

"Did you want to tell me why you wanted to see me?" Sheryl's eyelids fluttered open and Charles noticed a tremor of panic in the way she stared out the windshield. She looked at Charles and sighed dejectedly.

"I think I may have a mutation that I can't control," Sheryl said staring at the car radio as if she were having a conversation with it. Charles nodded understandingly.

"What kind of mutation?" He pried. Sheryl glanced at him.

"Well," she began tilting her head against her raised shoulders. "I have a tendency of attracting bad luck." Suddenly collapsing her shoulders, she looked at Charles for his reaction.

A smile played on Charles's lips as Sheryl stared at him, her eyes standing out against the darkening world around them. She waited, almost tensely as if she were receiving a life-threatening diagnosis.

"I've never met a mutant with a mutation for attracting bad luck before," Charles said hoping to sound reassuring and open-minded at the same time. Sheryl seemed to relax for the moment. She shifted her weight, resting her knees against the center console, to face Charles.

"I think it all started when I left my husband," Sheryl said looking at the car radio again. "Bad things started happening after that."

"What kind of bad things, Sheryl?" Charles asked slightly leaning forward. The effervescent Sheryl he knew a while ago became solemn, yet she smiled tiredly with an undertone of sadness and disappointment.

"Things starting happening … when I moved into my friend's apartment, it flooded; when I moved in with my uncle, half his house caught fire; finally, when I moved into my cousin house, he got caught smoking weed in front of the five-and-dime. I have nowhere else to go, Charles. I feel that no matter where I go, something … bad happens."

Charles held his chin pondering how to tell Sheryl her bad luck might just be a bout of unfortunate events. However, refrained when he saw a glint of orange illuminate the rearview mirrow. He looked behind him and saw the back of Crusty's on fire.


	4. Chapter 4

After Erik had searched the grounds for any horizontally positioned bodies resembling Charles's body profile, he rendezvoused with Jean, Scott, Kurt and Jubilee in the estate's kitchen. It was already dark and everyone was concerned and hungry.

"The professor isn't on the campus, Mr. Lensherr," Jean said. "I couldn't sense his presence anywhere."

"And ve checked all da floors," Kurt added. Jean, Scott, Kurt and Jubilee stared at Erik Lensherr as they sat around the kitchen island. Erik had his arms folded across his chest and was intensely staring at the stove.

"Uh … Mr. Lensherr?" Scott asked.

"I heard," Erik said finally looking at the students. "Since I don't know how to work this damn old-fashioned stove – why doesn't Charles upgrade his appliances? – we're going to Crusty's."

"Whoo-hoo!" Jubilee hooted throwing her hands in the air. A moment of silence followed her outburst as Jean, Scott and Kurt gave her questioning looks.

"What?" She said, questioning their looks in return. "Crusty's has like the best fried chicken in New York. You guys got to get out more."

The kids piled into the backseat of one of the professor's open-top automobiles in the garage since no one wanted to ride shot gun with Mr. Lensherr. Once Erik fetched the keys from a cabinet hanging on the far wall facing the driveway, Erik got in, revved the engine and started it off at 50 miles per hour.

"Mr. Lensherr!" Kurt yelled from the backseat. "Your seatbelt!"

"I don't do seatbelts!" Erik yelled back. "But it doesn't mean you don't get to wear yours, so all of you buckle up or so help me I will buckle them for you!"

The kids sat in silence as Mr. Lensherr maneuvered the vehicle around the bends and curves of the road to Crusty's. It was a bit of a distance but Erik felt like it would be a good distraction for the kids to get their minds off of Charles's mysterious disappearance. Erik was baffled and unnerved since seeing Charles's empty wheelchair.

As Erik and the kids neared Crusty's, they saw an orange blaze illuminating the trees and sky in the distance. This made Erik increase pressure on the gas pedal, jerking the car forward in a fit of squeaks and cringing metal. Jubilee gave Kurt a concerned look as she scooted away from the side of the car towards the middle.

After a few sharp turns, Erik turned the vehicle into Crusty's parking lot. The kids immediately jumped out and rushed towards the building as Erik quickly followed behind. Scott led the way towards the crowd of people gathering outside to gawk at the flames erupting from the back of Crusty's building.

"This is insane!" One bystander exclaimed as Scott tapped him on the shoulder.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Shiiiiit," the man drawled. "The building just burst into flame as if the devil was cooking in the back."

"Seriously," Kurt exclaimed, eyes widening.

"No," a stout woman wearing a black apron said coming up behind them. "I think we had some faulty wiring in the back because I called the electric company to come fix it. Didn't think delaying their call would turn into something like this. Sheesh! Lord knows I'm about to be fired."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jean said empathetically. She was already using her telekinesis to control the flames.

"Where's Lucas?!" The people turned towards a frazzled woman coming towards them. "I can't find my little boy. I think he might still be in the building!"

Before Scott could rush intot he building, Kurt vanished into blue and gray smoke causing people to back away and stare in alarm.

"That boy just burst into smoke!" The man exclaimed staring at the ground where Kurt was standing.

"Mutants, man," another person said as their little girl stared at amazement at the same spot.

"Where's Mr. Lensherr?" Jubilee said looking around as Kurt reappeared with the boy holding one of his blue fingers.

Erik was patrolling the back of Crusty's restaurant for any foul play when a shadow of a car caught his eye in the neighboring parking lot. Could it be a potential suspect? He extended his hand, fingers stetching from the palm, as he focused his power on drawing the Buick towards him.

 _Back to Charles and Sheryl …_

"WHY IS CRUSTY'S ON FIRE?" Sheryl screamed staring out the back window of her car. "I DIDN'T EVEN GO IN THE BUILDING!"

"I don't know!" Charles replied equally puzzled. He placed a finger to his temple trying to determine if everyone evacuated the building safely. Charles could sense their panic and frustration of leaving without chicken as they rushed out the building.

"We should lend our assistance," Charles said shifting his weight in his seat. Sheryl looked at him incredulously.

"You want to go into the building that's on fire?" She asked, her voice unusually high-pitched.

"Well, not exactly," Charles replied realizing he wouldn't be able to do much.

"I think I did this," Sheryl suddenly said staring out the windshield.

"Sheryl, you did not," Charles said adamantly. "We don't know who did this or rather what did this. Wait a minute!"

"What?" She asked staring at him anxiously.

"I sense someone, or rather a group of people." Charles turned around and saw one of his vintage cars in the parking of lot of Crusty's with his kids jumping out. Pride swelled in his chest as he watched them confront bystanders and Kurt disappearing in a puff of smoke. Sheryl turned around to see what the Professor was watching.

"Who are they?" She asked.

"My students," He replied quietly, smiling.

"Awww," Sheryl said smiling momentarily before she felt the car jerk in place.

"What's happening?" Sheryl exclaimed as the Buick squeaked from the strain of metal against metal, as it appeared reluctantly to reverse. "I don't like this. Professor?"

"Erik," Charles breathed. He looked behind him and saw a tall figure standing at the back of Crusty's holding his arm out.

"Whoever he is, I don't think I like him," Sheryl exclaimed holding onto the steering wheel as she anxiously turned the key to start the engine. The engine struggled to start as metal started to concave on either side of them. Charles put a finger to his temple.

"Erik!" He mentally screamed while Sheryl held her head in her hands. However, it was too late. Charles felt a sharp pain in his wrist before losing consciousness as his upper body crashed into Sheryl's side.


End file.
